S Lanka rejects Tamil rebels' truce

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COLOMBO, April 26 (AFP): Sri Lanka rejected Sunday a ceasefire declared by Tamil Tiger rebels, as the United Nations said the ongoing fighting was preventing essential aid from reaching thousands of trapped civilians.
Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said there was no need for a truce as the military was on the verge of defeating the separatist forces, who have fought for 37 years for the creation of an independent Tamil homeland.
"What is the need for a ceasefire when they are running away? They should first lay down arms, surrender and let the people go," Rajapakse said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are accused of holding thousands of civilians hostage, said its ceasefire was "in the face of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis" and in response to international appeals.
"All of LTTE's offensive military operations will cease with immediate effect," the rebels said in a statement.
A rebel spokesman, S Puleethevan, said the Tigers would maintain their ceasefire only if the government reciprocated.
"It is purely for humanitarian purposes and the duration will depend on the response of the Sri Lankan government," Puleethevan told AFP by telephone from the last patch of rebel-held territory in the northeast of the island.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes, on a visit to Sri Lanka, had earlier Sunday appealed to both sides to stop the violence, saying that recent fighting had taken "a terrible toll" on civilians.
The United States and the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations have repeated calls for a ceasefire, but the Sri Lankan government is determined to drive home its military assault and finally wipe out the rebels.
Streams of people have left rebel territory over the last week after the latest military advances, and the UN says 100,000 Tamil civilians who have fled the conflict zone are being detained in government-run camps.
The military successes have come at a huge cost, rights groups say, with the UN estimating as many as 6,500 non-combatants may have been killed and another 14,000 wounded in the fighting so far this year.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's ruling party won by a landslide in a local election that the country's president had turned into a referendum on his military campaign to crush Tamil rebels, officials said Sunday.
Mahinda Rajapakse's Freedom Alliance won 68 seats in the Western Provincial Council, the highest level local government, leaving only 36 seats in the hands of four opposition parties following Saturday's vote.
Official results showed that the ruling party won 64.73 per cent of the popular vote while its closest rival, the United National Party, collected 29.5 per cent.
There are no opinion polls in Sri Lanka on the government's handling of the military campaign, but surveys have shown strong support for Rajapakse's policy.
The guerrillas have been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland since 1972 but are facing defeat at the hands of government forces.